The First Thanksgiving

 

 The Virginia colony

A collective prayer of thanksgiving was held in the Virginia Colony on December 4, 1619 near the current site of Berkeley Plantation, where celebrations are still held each year on the first Sunday in November.

 

 Pilgrims

The early settlers of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts were particularly thankful for Squanto, the Native American who taught them how to catch eel, grow corn and who served as an interpreter for them (Squanto had learned English as a slave in Europe). Without Squanto's help the settlers might not have survived in the new world.

These settlers (who later came to be called the "Pilgrims") set apart a day to celebrate at Plymouth immediately after their first harvest, in 1621.

After their first harvest, the colonists of the Plymouth held a celebration of food, feasting, and praising God in the fall of 1621. Indian chiefs Massassoit, Squanto and Samoset joined in the celebration with ninety of their men in the three-day event.